Dingo Creek jazzes up

WITH the Dingo Creek Jazz and Blues Festival on April 30-May 1 closing in fast, Pomona’s Jamie Lockhart is busy getting his program together for the big event.

The blues singer and guitarist has been in the region for about two years having arrived via his former home town of Melbourne and later Byron Bay.

It was Sunshine Coast council mayor Bob Abbot who noticed Lockhart one night at a gig in the Boreen Point pub and played a hand in getting him the gig at Dingo Creek.

“I’d have to say Bob’s a bit of a fan of mine it seems, and he really encouraged me to get involved with Dingo Creek,” Mr Lockhart said.

Lockhart, 41, has been shaped by many influences over the years including Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jim Morrison, Tom Waits and Chris Rea just to name a few.

Several years ago Jamie toured the USA starting with Los Angeles, moving onto Detroit before the highlight where he had the privilege of opening for the late, great Jeff Healy at the NXNE Music Festival in Toronto.

Jamie said, for the Dingo Creek festival, he was working on presenting a show that included a Delta slide blues genre with blues from the 1920s through to the 1940s.

“My program will be songs made famous by the likes of Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker, with a bit of Muddy Waters thrown in for good measure,” Jamie said.

“Fortunately I have that type of voice that slips easily into that genre.”

He was also looking forward to jamming with other musicians during the festival using his collection of guitars, including his Gibson arch-top hollow-body guitar.

“I’d love to jam with Bob (Abbot) and his new band.

"We’ll have to wait and see but it’s bound to happen at some stage.

"That’s what happens at festivals.”

Festival organiser Marg Gillespie said this year’s festival had a good mix of jazz and blues.

“On the blues side, there’s Jamie, plus the Blind Lemon band, which were very popular last year, the ever-popular Police Band of Blue and of course Bob Abbot, who never ceases to amaze with his swamp blues voice,” Marg said.

On the jazz side the headliners will be the Janet Seidel Trio and Willy Qua and the New Galapagos Duck, along with a host of other great jazz musicians.

This is a fundraiser for SIDS and Kids Queensland and tickets are available on the event’s website www.dingocreek.com.au or phone Marg on 5485 1731.